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If it's of any use, a traditional English building technique of putting wood with the grain going horizontally underneath wood with the grain going vertically means that moisure cannot rise up through your piece very well. There are surviving oak timbers that are hundreds of years old above more sacrificial horizontal layers of wood. It's much like putting metal legs/feet on a chair. Break the flow of water iyto the piece and it'll last longer.
I've used construction lumber (often fir) for outdoor apps. The first key is: no plywood. Second: mechanical fasteners only. Third: paint. Fourth: paint it again, especially the grain ends, and even MORE specially, the grain ends. Paint everything before assembly because rot will intrude at joints unless they are painted before assembly. With pocket holes, I have a small paint brush to get into the bore. It's worth it. I've got some exterior project wood exposed over a decade and still looking good. If you think on it, a house usually has a lot of exposed lumber surfaces, which work fine as long as they're protected.
Hola! 🖐I appreciate you expressing how letting the natural wood "age" is just as fine a "finish" as anything else you can coat it with. I really enjoy the look of an aged piece of furniture. Take care and have a good one, Adios!👊
Always good to consider your options. Redwood is certainly more expensive than construction pine or fir but some of the other options like White oak aren't exactly cheap. I have a redwood picnic table that I built almost 3 years ago here in Colorado with absolutely no finish on it and it has stood up to the elements. It was maybe 50% more to build than using construction lumber.
Our home centers down here in coastal Louisiana don't carry white oak, but they do carry cedar. However, my local sawmill works with bald cypress, snd that's our go-to here for outdoor furniture, structures, and boats.
Humid Southeast Texas here. I’ve been building benches, swings and tables from treated #1 pine for years. Always planed and sanded smooth. Haven’t had any issues yet. Still smooth and easy to sit on. I have an octagonal table with seats which has been out in the weather for 30 years. Still in excellent condition. Works for me here. Right now, most other woods here are way too expensive.
I built an outdoor 2-story playhouse for my daughter last summer. I used southern yellow pine (SYP) for the floor joists and other horizontal members. I used Douglas Fir 4x4s for the vertical posts. I used stainless steel carriage bolts to connect horizontal SYP beams to the notched DF posts. I used western red cedar for the floor boards. I connected floor joists to the beams with Simpson joist hangers and simpson screws. I predrilled pilot holes for every connection that I made with outdoor deck screws. When working with douglas fir or cedar, I predrill my holes a bit smaller (maybe 1/32" smaller) than recommended predrilling bore sizes, but I'll still predrill. I predrill to the recommended pilot hole size in SYP because, in my experience, it can split if you don't. I went a little nuts with the 4x4 posts. They had some natural checks and knots, and I filled all of them with a penetrating epoxy. I used too much epoxy and spent a lot of time planing and sanding the excess. The structure sits on top of concrete pavers, and I mounted structural plastic 4x4 standoffs under the posts so the end grain would not have contact with ground moisture. I sealed all the wood with Seal-Once Marine Wood Sealer. I think that stuff is awesome. I would recommend it to anyone building something with wood outdoors. Before I finished building a roof structure on the playhouse, it rained a couple times, and I could see how water would bead on top of horizontal boards and beams. The sealer really penetrates into the wood. I used it on SYP, doug fir and also the cedar deck boards. I think it's especially important to seal all end-grain, but I took the extra time to seal everything. After plenty of rain and snow in autumn and winter, the wood still looks amazing. It hasn't really grayed. There are no signs of mold. I built a roof over the structure using clear, corrugated polycarbonate roofing, but a little wind-driven rain still gets in. I used douglas fir for my rafters and also for the roof purlins. I notched the purlins and cut birds-mouths in the rafters. I'm actually shocked that there are zero signs of bowing and warping anywhere in the structure after its first winter outside, and the wood isn't even graying or decaying at all. I think the main contributors are: 1) start with quality wood. On each visit to buy lumber, I probably spent an hour picking through the lumber pile at my hardware store to get the best pieces of lumber that they had. I built my project in stages and took multiple trips to the hardware store. On 2 occasions, I decided to not buy all the lumber that I needed in one trip because I thought the pile was picked-through and the inventory was really bad. On other occasions, I found SOME really nice pieces of lumber in the pile. Even on those occasions, MOST of the lumber in the pile among was bowed, twisted, had lots of knots, had a lot of check cracks or had other defects. It can feel really tedious, but I think it's absolutely worth it to shop around until you find good lumber because starting out with defective lumber makes everything harder. 2) definitely use some kind of penetrating wood sealer like Seal-once. I recommend this even for cedar. Again, it worked great on doug fir, southern yellow pine and also cedar 3) avoid direct ground contact with wood. I think it makes a ton of sense to use some kind of plastic or metal standoffs to raise any wood furniture or structure off the ground so the feet are never sitting in a puddle or soaking up water from the wet ground. Even 1 inch or 1/2 inch of elevation from the ground likely makes a huge difference 4) When you have the option, built some sort of roof over your wooden furniture or structure to reduce exposure to precipitation. 5) I tried to measure everything carefully so all wood connections would be tight and solid. I screwed or bolted all the connections together tightly.
I really appreciate your realistic advice. I’m a renovation/finish carpenter in costal New England. I often recommend my customers to let their hardwood decks naturally gray with time. When I first meet them, they want gray trex to start with. Lots of old structures and wood bridges here are white oak. It can last many decades if you don’t let anything grow on it, keep it clear of leaves, dirt, mold and moss. If I do put any protective top coat on something I’ve had a lot of luck with F and P.
Great advice as always, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've always used white oak as I like the look of it compared to other woods, good to know that I was doing something right with my wood choices. I mentioned in another comment below that I really don't like the natural patina of any of these woods, a light epoxy coat and a matte lacquer will keep it looking fresh for years on end (but will need refinishing at some point which might be a pain for some).
For outdoor projects I prefer sealing the wood with epoxy. It's heavily waterproof that way and to add UV protection I usually take a boat lacquer or the like.
This is exactly what I like to do with my outdoor project pieces, I stumbled across this idea some years back but can't remember where from exactly. I've tried a few different cheaper epoxies over the years but all of them started cracking and flaking after 6 - 12 months. Since then I've been using TotalBoat and have had a small outdoor armchair set that I re-finished and have looked great now for over 3 years. Top Tip, use a matte lacquer to remove the glossiness of the epoxy, it makes the wood look far more natural.
@@bwhite661 I brush the epoxy on with a fine brush, then I go over it with a heat gun to smooth and remove bubbles, I only apply a light coat. The lacquer is a bit tougher, two or three coats. You can brush it on but I prefer spraying it. Refinishing is annoying, you need to get all the epoxy off, sanding is difficult so a card scraper works best imo
Not sure if it's available there yet, but here another great option is thermally modified wood (ex. Thermowood), which is wood that's have been treated with high heat to handle weather and rot better without the need to use chemicals.
@@jewishmafia9801 From what I could read it seems to be the same. The only thing I noticed was that torrefied lumber seems to be mostly hardwood while Thermowood is mostly fir/pine.
Thanks for all the great info. I built some construction grade outdoor furniture this year and finished it with Behr Premium Clear Transparent Waterproofing. Claims to last 4 years on decking, so we shall see how it holds up. It does give the wood a more golden color than just a clear coat.
Cheers Jim, I have the metal parts of a garden bench, currently playing the part of, 'unfinished project #5,028'. And this issue is my problem. Your advice gives me a far better chance of finishing the project....satisfactorily, give or take my WW skills.
I recently learned of an outdoor finish that is amazingly simple. 8 parts mineral spirits, 1 part boiled linseed oil, and one part melted canning wax (gulf wax). Mixed and applied it works amazingly well. Very simple to apply with a garden sprayer. It repels water like turtle wax on a corvette.
My white pine Muskoka Chairs are over 30 years old. They were coated with solid stain when new, and about 3 or 4 times in between then and now. They are finally showing a little rot where the feet touch the deck.
I hear you with the idea of letting wood weather on it's own but I've also experimented and used many outdoor finishes on many projects. The best results I've gotten are from an "old-fashioned" mix of Linseed Oil, Thompsons water seal, and Paint Thinner. This mix soaks into the wood nicely, it's easy to re-apply without sanding and so far I haven't found any wood that it doesn't work well with. The only thing is that you need to let it sit a while for the finish to really set into the wood before you let your wife sit on it to test it out LOL😅
Nice video. However, you start by mentioning redwood and teak, and as a guy who has owned a lot of sailboats, I would say that anyone who thinks teak will last well outdoors without looking and feeling bad may be in for an unpleasant surprise. All of the teak on our sailboats needed to be stripped and re-coated (with a UV resistant "spar" varnish) every 2-3 years, when it was on the outside of our boats. Yes, a little of that may have been from being around salt water, but all of the inside teak, exposed to the same "vapors", did fine...it was the sun that did in the teak coatings and then the teak itself.
Cypress, Redwood, or Cedar are very common depending on your location. As mentioned, white oak is good. If you can afford it.....and find it......teak or Ipe. IMO the top wood for outdoors is Ipe.
Out door finishes video would be awesome. I have some water based external polyurethane which i am excited to try on a cheap, pine table i just made. Still debating if I want to stain. Sanding part is almost done so i need to decide quick
Treated timber is usually used for outdoor related projects Untreated timber if its for outdoor use prime undercoat top coat outdoor all weather paint Or a 5yr wood stain sealer especially on any part that touches ground esp ground that's wet or gets wet
Ten or so years ago I built an oversized porch swing for an exposed location. I used white oak, Titebond III, and splurged on bronze screws from McFeely's. Finished with Sherwin-Williams opaque stain. The finish has held up pretty well. All the joints are still tight. I did not glue the slats in place so that they could be easily replaced if one broke. Not needed to date. 2" bronze screws were applied generously to all the joints. The slats were done with 1" screws.
I made an outdoor workbench out of 2x4's about 8 or 9 years ago. I put on a good prime and an exterior paint and it is holding up really well. I've never refinished it but I am going to refinish the top this year. The rest of it is still in great shape.
One thing to keep in mind also: some people, like me, are allergic to some types of (natural) wood. I can literally feel my eyes and sinuses cry out if I spend more than a minute or two in the close up presence of cedar! A few years back I wandered into a wood speciality store and as I passed this one rack of some exotic and expensive wood I felt like a hand reached out and tried to choke me. I kept walking and it went away. Turned back and passed a second time and the same thing happened! It wasn't cedar and I don't know what it was, but the point is: make sure you and your family and friends are not at risk going into an allergic shock when they approach your beautiful garden table ;) It's not good for your reputation as a woodworker :)
Cypress! I started using this about 15 years ago, after a set of pine Adirondack chairs rotted away. Taking the advice of Norm Abram, I used cypress. Today, those projects are still perfect and have been outside on a pier since then. The only downside? They turn an ugly splotchy gray, just like cedar. Just have to embrace it. A pressure wash will restore the color for a bit. It's easy to work with, and reasonably inexpensive, the last time I bought some.
Regarding stainless steel fasteners, specifically nuts, bolts and screws - it has been my experience, both as a homeowner and boat owner, that big box store "stainless steel" fasteners are of a lower grade than marine grade (316) stainless steel and will thus rust/corrode at some point in time. There are 50-year-old 316 stainless fasteners on my boat, and they look "good as new" compared to what I've used from the big box stores. 316 (sometimes referred to as 316L or A4) stainless steel will cost more, but you'll get a longer service life out of them.
Eastern Red Cedar is much more dense than Western. I believe it’s Janka Rating is right around cherry and walnut. I’m lucky enough to have it readily available by me and the guy charges me around 4$/board foot. Great for outdoor furniture
White Oak is good. I like it all around, takes stain well, it can hang around outside or inside. Outside will darken it and no matter what you do it’s doing it whether you like it or not!
I used teak oil on a table and bench because it's easy to refinish. Just sand lightly and add another coat as needed. It seems like any kind of film based finish would be a pain to refinish.
I had great success with linseed oil and wax on a cedar table for about 4 years in direct sun, and left out in snow over winter -- no greying. But I did need to re-apply wax at least once a year, and it stained easily from dirt if I didn't wipe it clean regularly.
Good points. Avoid the blond wood on cedar, it rots just as fast as pine. I made white oak roof racks for my truck 10 years ago that are just as strong as ever and my truck is never garaged.
My local hardwood dealer carries rough sawn cypress in all the common dimensions (1x6, 2x4, etc.). That would be my first choice for an inexpensive long lasting outdoor project. It is soft, but not as soft as cedar.
Some areas of the Midwestern US (Wisconsin)are blessed and cursed with black locust trees. The blessed part comes from the fact that black locust lumber will withstand outdoor weather for at least 20 years. Even untreated black locust posts will not rot in the ground for 20 years. The cursed side comes from the fact that it is a very hard wood to work with, literally being very hard. Much harder that hard maple and very close to Hickory. Also, the smaller branches bear thorns that are needle sharp and are about 2" long. I source mine from some Amish sawmills. If I want it to last it's right up there with treated wood with no dangerous chemicals.
If you are in the right area, hemlock, a soft wood pine tree - not the bush that makes a poison tea, is very rot resistant. I’m fortunate to be in the Catskills with a lot of hemlock on my property. I have a small sawmill and many others do in areas like this. Look and you can find wood cheaper than a big box store.
I hope this isn’t offensive, but truthfully I like this studio setting over the other with all your hand planes. When I first came across your channel I had a moment of panic as I thought that I needed to acquire a lot of them to do good woodworking.
White oak is $$$. I have a lot of yellow pine here and it is amazing for outdoor furniture. I'm wondering about laminate bamboo because I am starting to run into that a lot. Last 2 benches I overhauled the hardware cleaned up the hardwood and used a Brazilian oil stain and they are doing VERY good in the hot Texas sun and rain.
Have a look for slats from iroko wood. They do a great job & aren't very expensive (assuming you order a decent amount at once or can collect) for a proper hardwood that can stand up well against the weather without needing paint. The main frame can still be treated stuff to keep the price down too.
You're using the wrong wood suppliers then. I'm also in the UK and use iroko for outdoor furniture. The Adirondack chairs I built years ago spend nine months of the year outside and uncovered - for the other three they are under a lean-to which keeps off the rain and snow, at least as long as the wind doesn't blow - and are still as good as new (save for turning grey of course). I don't know if you can get it in the USA though. There is no point in using a finish - it'll just create extra work in the future.
Thermally modified wood is a very good alternative if you have a local source. It's stable, weather, rot, and pest resistant and the thermal process imparts a stain like finish. The process does slightly weaken the wood by around 15 to 20% so if using for structures, check the load bearing stats.
Yep, redwood is expensive. If I want it to last for ever, I still go for it. I have many redwood items, some very old. Your video is super helpful as always. My second choice is always cedar.
Thank you for this video. I watch all of yours. I live in SW France. Here we can buy Robinia =False Acacia which has several American names, I think Locust and Iron Wood. It's virtually immune to rot and insect attack, works easily, weathers well and doesn't produce splinters. ideal wood for the exterior without finish of any kind. Second choice would be Chestnut. Robinia is so-called because it was introduced to Europe by a French bloke called M. Robin.
Insane amounts of BLO on the outdoor furniture can also work wonders for durability. Some pines, especially if they are very resinous can be quite durable in outdoor conditions.
Thank you for this, I'll try to remember this about white oak regarding trade offs. Saw Mike Holmes of HGTV fame disparage cedar's durability as if it was pine. Ticked me off because he is considered a guru of 'building it right.' Also wouldn't go to Mike Holmes for psychiatric analysis. He ran down a teacher because he figured her a horder. She wasn't. She had a wall's worth of books, that were part of her profession, and she had some duplicates of cooking utensils. If you cook much at all, you need some duplicates because that is how cooking works. Neither collection was extreme, or unreasonable. The house was in otherwise good condition...
I think we as woodworkers have a weird thing about paint, as if we're not REAL woodworkers unless we leave all the grain exposed to wow everyone who sees our master craftsmanship. I just made a bench for a family member, and the legs and entire frame of it were made from 2x4s, including a few pieces of old pressure-treated that had been in my garage for year (thus appropriately dry). I'm new to turning so I decided this would be my first major turning project, with four big legs turned on the lathe. Lots of tearout issues with the carbide tools since I'm a newbie. First time doing real mortise and tenons too, and they were slightly gappy. None of that mattered thanks to wood filler + paint. A high-quality white paint + a simple bench top of clear-coated curly maple, and the family member was stunned that it looked so good. They don't have the same ideas about paint not being for REAL woodworkers.
I started watching your videos a couple weeks ago and have learned the most from them out of a lot of maker builder UA-camrs. I saw something was fatty resistant and as a fatty I appreciate that 😂 here’s to the death of wicker furniture
We have what is marketed as protective stain. It is absorbed by the wood and it stays there for a very long time (5+ years) and prevents rot almost completely. I have 10 year old pieces of scrap pine lying around in the garden that are still good to be used. I have a few points about fastening too. Glue doesn't last in hot summers, so does poly based finishes. Screws other than stainless steel varieties do not last long if they get wet. I think the best ones are IKEA style fasteners, I have wooden IKEA furniture in my garden for the past 14 years, I painted them 3-4 times, they are still in good condition. The problem with them is they are hard to source where I live. Finally, never trust metal corner brackets, I learnt it the hard way. Do proper joinery, 2x2 is far stronger than 2-3mm mystery metal. Finally, make sure your projects have no location that the water would collect, design it in a way so that the water will drain or it should have large enough opening so that it would dry.
I don't know the exact going price for white oak boards, but I know logs prices in my area have white oak near the top. I live in an area where the timber is at least 90% hardwoods, and the only wood bringing higher price than white oak is black walnut. Cherry, maple, hickory, and red oak all take a back seat to white oak. In an era where groceries are a major purchase, I can't see many people buying white oak to build a chair for their porch.
I did cabot oil on my rebuilt guider with cedar 4 years ago...looks as good now as then and haven't had to do anything other than a wash. And that's with Illinois winters and summers
White oak is used by boat builders because the capillary tubes of the heart wood has blockages which restrict the flow of water. You can take a piece of red oak and dip it in pool of water and blow bubbles from the other end; not so with white oak. There isnt significant chemical difference between different oak species for rot resistance.
Ok, now you gotta set up a sample bench of different types of woods and finished and put them outside in the elements and come back monthly for status updates. :). I expect a 5-7 year run on episodes for the unfinished ones.
I got my hands on a lot of junk white oak all twisted etc. Not furniture grade but for planter boxes and bird houses been working great. You cant buy pine 2x4 for what I paid for it . I have 3 different finishes on different ones watching my guess in another year wont be able to see the difference lol
There is a deck and fence product called “Flood” that lasts *really* well, and looks really nice that a friend of mine put me on to. i like to use the cedar colored one, because it is applied to an already aged wood, it tends to look almost like worn in leather, has a good rustic chic look. I’ve used it on outdoor benches and chairs and it has lasted really well.
Even when building a deck, you should let treated lumber dry out for about 6 weeks before cutting anything. I know most people DON'T do that, but you should.
If you do a video about exterior wood finishes, I'd be interested in your assessment of Hemp Shield. I have used it on a few outdoor projects and it has held up well. It is water based and easy to work with. I have also used it on the interior trim in our guest house.
yes cedar stands up well to mother nature but, but is splits easy and because it is soft, it will require more support that even white pine or even fir. If I am going to use a coating then I will use a high solids stain or I will take a good oil based paint and thin it with linseed and mineral spirits, to get it to sink in deep. if at all possible I will coat the wood before I put the project together and then make sure to treat the cut ends with the same product I coated the wood with. stay away from box store products as they have a limited use, some products look good but just do not stand up to the elements, I had one oil base paint that chalk up before I even finished putting the product on, I was working in direct sunlight and it just did not like it. I ended up scrapping it off, allowed it to dry completely and then sanded and applied a new coat once it got a bit cooler. Don't skimp on paints or stains, this is especially true outdoors. Paint store make their products to be used in your location and box store paints sell to stores all over the country so they may not have taken your location into consideration. What works good in Arizona may not work well in Pennsylvania.
Late last year I build an Adarondack chair out of Western Cedar... yeah it was around $400 in materials just for the 3 or 4 boards I needed. Works very well, but holy hell is it expensive. I want to try White Oak next since it has pretty reasonable prices as the local lumber yard buys in bulk shipments. Probably won't be that fun to work with though. One wood we have in the northern part of our province (Saskatchewan) is Tamarack (or Larch) which apparently is nearly as good as Cedar for outdoor furniture water/weather resistance and similar to Douglas Fir for hardness/workability. It has been used for Telephone poles and dog-sleds in the past. Unfortunately it isn't used much commercially for timber these days so it is hard to find as boards, but I will have to make a trip to find some and try out as I would love to use local materials for local project.
I have a love/hate relationship with cedar. It’s gorgeous and fairly cheap in my area. But no matter what you do with it, it fast becomes as brittle as potato chips.
What oil-based applications do you recommend for “unfinished” outdoor projects? I’m guessing that an annual or biannual application to some of these woods will help prolong their life, without the worry of flaking or other paint-like finishes. As a beekeeper, we dunk new beehives in ting oil or boiled linseed oil… some go as far as to heat the oil in large cats and submerge the hive boxes for a minute or two so it really soaks in. Obviously this isn’t realistic for a lot of outdoor projects… but the protection the oils provide seem logical.
I've been slathering used motor oil on 12' treated 4x4 posts - they're in the rain and sun but have stabilized, slung over 2 sawhorses - some have straightened back out after initially warping. I wouldn't use the wood for chairs or table tops. I bet it would partly water proof plain pine.
Iroko is a lovely hardwood if you want a bench that'll really last, & it's surprisingly cheap in the UK (not sure about US). Unlike oak, it holds up very well even without oiling & I think it ends up looking better over time & exposure to the elements. I'd always keep oak oiled & preferably burnish it to keep it in good shape. Those parts that do have to stand on the ground & soak up water can be made from treated softwood too, sort of like horseshoes but for your outdoor furniture.
Let's not forget about composite decking. I garbage picked an old bench my neighbor was tossing out. The sides were wrought iron, and the slats were cedar (rotted). I replaced the slats with composite and 10 years on and you wouldn't know the difference.
Has anyone ever heard about outdoor projects made with wood stabilized with Cactus Juice? I stabilize woods for knife scales, but never considered bird houses, benches, chairs etc. White oak is getting the Adirondack treatment with stabilized wood this summer. Thanks for the heads up on the wood selection. 👍
One point of contention at 2:30 Wooden ships are exposed mostly to saltwater not freshwater. Saltwater doesn't rot wood like freshwater does, so your unfinished back yard furniture potentially sees a lot more weather abuse than a wooden ship.
@@StumpyNubs they're not unfinished, they use varnish or paint on their decks. Plus sea water washes across them regularly enough to essentially brine any potentially exposed wood making it harder for freshwater to seep in and do damage.
I would think cypress would be another great option (or at least a good one) for outdoor projects. Cypress trees grown in water, so it seems to stand to reason that the water- & rot-resistance would be high. Just a thought. And yes to a video on outdoor finishes, please! :)
Brass fasteners will also do well against the elements - and look prettier than stainless steel. Though they can be harder to find and you have to make sure they are actually brass and not just "brass" (colored crap).
How about cypress? The 40-year old Adirondack chairs I made are just now ready for the burn pile. I will salvage the ss screws to use in the next set. The resorcinol glued parts are still holding tightly.
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If it's of any use, a traditional English building technique of putting wood with the grain going horizontally underneath wood with the grain going vertically means that moisure cannot rise up through your piece very well. There are surviving oak timbers that are hundreds of years old above more sacrificial horizontal layers of wood. It's much like putting metal legs/feet on a chair. Break the flow of water iyto the piece and it'll last longer.
I've used construction lumber (often fir) for outdoor apps. The first key is: no plywood. Second: mechanical fasteners only. Third: paint. Fourth: paint it again, especially the grain ends, and even MORE specially, the grain ends. Paint everything before assembly because rot will intrude at joints unless they are painted before assembly. With pocket holes, I have a small paint brush to get into the bore. It's worth it. I've got some exterior project wood exposed over a decade and still looking good. If you think on it, a house usually has a lot of exposed lumber surfaces, which work fine as long as they're protected.
Hola! 🖐I appreciate you expressing how letting the natural wood "age" is just as fine a "finish" as anything else you can coat it with. I really enjoy the look of an aged piece of furniture. Take care and have a good one, Adios!👊
Always good to consider your options. Redwood is certainly more expensive than construction pine or fir but some of the other options like White oak aren't exactly cheap. I have a redwood picnic table that I built almost 3 years ago here in Colorado with absolutely no finish on it and it has stood up to the elements. It was maybe 50% more to build than using construction lumber.
White oak with several coats of spar varnish is what I used on my outdoor bench. Strong and should last a long time.
Larch is also a classic choice, it takes a nice colour and almost fossilises into stone when outdoors.
Would also be my choice. Maybe douglas fir if it has to be inexpensive.
Our home centers down here in coastal Louisiana don't carry white oak, but they do carry cedar. However, my local sawmill works with bald cypress, snd that's our go-to here for outdoor furniture, structures, and boats.
Humid Southeast Texas here. I’ve been building benches, swings and tables from treated #1 pine for years. Always planed and sanded smooth. Haven’t had any issues yet. Still smooth and easy to sit on. I have an octagonal table with seats which has been out in the weather for 30 years. Still in excellent condition. Works for me here. Right now, most other woods here are way too expensive.
I built an outdoor 2-story playhouse for my daughter last summer. I used southern yellow pine (SYP) for the floor joists and other horizontal members. I used Douglas Fir 4x4s for the vertical posts. I used stainless steel carriage bolts to connect horizontal SYP beams to the notched DF posts. I used western red cedar for the floor boards. I connected floor joists to the beams with Simpson joist hangers and simpson screws. I predrilled pilot holes for every connection that I made with outdoor deck screws. When working with douglas fir or cedar, I predrill my holes a bit smaller (maybe 1/32" smaller) than recommended predrilling bore sizes, but I'll still predrill. I predrill to the recommended pilot hole size in SYP because, in my experience, it can split if you don't.
I went a little nuts with the 4x4 posts. They had some natural checks and knots, and I filled all of them with a penetrating epoxy. I used too much epoxy and spent a lot of time planing and sanding the excess. The structure sits on top of concrete pavers, and I mounted structural plastic 4x4 standoffs under the posts so the end grain would not have contact with ground moisture.
I sealed all the wood with Seal-Once Marine Wood Sealer. I think that stuff is awesome. I would recommend it to anyone building something with wood outdoors. Before I finished building a roof structure on the playhouse, it rained a couple times, and I could see how water would bead on top of horizontal boards and beams. The sealer really penetrates into the wood. I used it on SYP, doug fir and also the cedar deck boards. I think it's especially important to seal all end-grain, but I took the extra time to seal everything.
After plenty of rain and snow in autumn and winter, the wood still looks amazing. It hasn't really grayed. There are no signs of mold. I built a roof over the structure using clear, corrugated polycarbonate roofing, but a little wind-driven rain still gets in. I used douglas fir for my rafters and also for the roof purlins. I notched the purlins and cut birds-mouths in the rafters.
I'm actually shocked that there are zero signs of bowing and warping anywhere in the structure after its first winter outside, and the wood isn't even graying or decaying at all.
I think the main contributors are:
1) start with quality wood. On each visit to buy lumber, I probably spent an hour picking through the lumber pile at my hardware store to get the best pieces of lumber that they had. I built my project in stages and took multiple trips to the hardware store. On 2 occasions, I decided to not buy all the lumber that I needed in one trip because I thought the pile was picked-through and the inventory was really bad. On other occasions, I found SOME really nice pieces of lumber in the pile. Even on those occasions, MOST of the lumber in the pile among was bowed, twisted, had lots of knots, had a lot of check cracks or had other defects. It can feel really tedious, but I think it's absolutely worth it to shop around until you find good lumber because starting out with defective lumber makes everything harder.
2) definitely use some kind of penetrating wood sealer like Seal-once. I recommend this even for cedar. Again, it worked great on doug fir, southern yellow pine and also cedar
3) avoid direct ground contact with wood. I think it makes a ton of sense to use some kind of plastic or metal standoffs to raise any wood furniture or structure off the ground so the feet are never sitting in a puddle or soaking up water from the wet ground. Even 1 inch or 1/2 inch of elevation from the ground likely makes a huge difference
4) When you have the option, built some sort of roof over your wooden furniture or structure to reduce exposure to precipitation.
5) I tried to measure everything carefully so all wood connections would be tight and solid. I screwed or bolted all the connections together tightly.
Sounds like you did the very best you could. Nice job. 😎👍
Linseed oil works great,I built a shooting bench 15 years ago and no rot at all.
I really appreciate your realistic advice. I’m a renovation/finish carpenter in costal New England. I often recommend my customers to let their hardwood decks naturally gray with time. When I first meet them, they want gray trex to start with. Lots of old structures and wood bridges here are white oak. It can last many decades if you don’t let anything grow on it, keep it clear of leaves, dirt, mold and moss. If I do put any protective top coat on something I’ve had a lot of luck with F and P.
Great advice as always, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I've always used white oak as I like the look of it compared to other woods, good to know that I was doing something right with my wood choices. I mentioned in another comment below that I really don't like the natural patina of any of these woods, a light epoxy coat and a matte lacquer will keep it looking fresh for years on end (but will need refinishing at some point which might be a pain for some).
For outdoor projects I prefer sealing the wood with epoxy. It's heavily waterproof that way and to add UV protection I usually take a boat lacquer or the like.
This is exactly what I like to do with my outdoor project pieces, I stumbled across this idea some years back but can't remember where from exactly. I've tried a few different cheaper epoxies over the years but all of them started cracking and flaking after 6 - 12 months. Since then I've been using TotalBoat and have had a small outdoor armchair set that I re-finished and have looked great now for over 3 years. Top Tip, use a matte lacquer to remove the glossiness of the epoxy, it makes the wood look far more natural.
Precisely what I use.
Totalboat epoxy and marine varnish.
How do you apply the lacquer and the epoxy? And how difficult is it to refinish?
@@bwhite661 I brush the epoxy on with a fine brush, then I go over it with a heat gun to smooth and remove bubbles, I only apply a light coat. The lacquer is a bit tougher, two or three coats. You can brush it on but I prefer spraying it. Refinishing is annoying, you need to get all the epoxy off, sanding is difficult so a card scraper works best imo
@@daveawb thanks!
Not sure if it's available there yet, but here another great option is thermally modified wood (ex. Thermowood), which is wood that's have been treated with high heat to handle weather and rot better without the need to use chemicals.
Is that similar to torrefied lumber?
@@jewishmafia9801 From what I could read it seems to be the same. The only thing I noticed was that torrefied lumber seems to be mostly hardwood while Thermowood is mostly fir/pine.
Thanks for all the great info. I built some construction grade outdoor furniture this year and finished it with Behr Premium Clear Transparent Waterproofing. Claims to last 4 years on decking, so we shall see how it holds up. It does give the wood a more golden color than just a clear coat.
Cheers Jim, I have the metal parts of a garden bench, currently playing the part of, 'unfinished project #5,028'. And this issue is my problem. Your advice gives me a far better chance of finishing the project....satisfactorily, give or take my WW skills.
I recently learned of an outdoor finish that is amazingly simple. 8 parts mineral spirits, 1 part boiled linseed oil, and one part melted canning wax (gulf wax). Mixed and applied it works amazingly well. Very simple to apply with a garden sprayer.
It repels water like turtle wax on a corvette.
My white pine Muskoka Chairs are over 30 years old. They were coated with solid stain when new, and about 3 or 4 times in between then and now. They are finally showing a little rot where the feet touch the deck.
That outdoor finish video is exactly what I’m looking for at the moment please make it nubs!
I hear you with the idea of letting wood weather on it's own but I've also experimented and used many outdoor finishes on many projects. The best results I've gotten are from an "old-fashioned" mix of Linseed Oil, Thompsons water seal, and Paint Thinner. This mix soaks into the wood nicely, it's easy to re-apply without sanding and so far I haven't found any wood that it doesn't work well with. The only thing is that you need to let it sit a while for the finish to really set into the wood before you let your wife sit on it to test it out LOL😅
Cedar really is great stuff. Plus it smells great.
Nice video. However, you start by mentioning redwood and teak, and as a guy who has owned a lot of sailboats, I would say that anyone who thinks teak will last well outdoors without looking and feeling bad may be in for an unpleasant surprise. All of the teak on our sailboats needed to be stripped and re-coated (with a UV resistant "spar" varnish) every 2-3 years, when it was on the outside of our boats. Yes, a little of that may have been from being around salt water, but all of the inside teak, exposed to the same "vapors", did fine...it was the sun that did in the teak coatings and then the teak itself.
Cypress, Redwood, or Cedar are very common depending on your location. As mentioned, white oak is good. If you can afford it.....and find it......teak or Ipe. IMO the top wood for outdoors is Ipe.
Just finished an 8' table using Ipe. It's beautiful and middle of the road affordable. Thanks for the informative videos, I always enjoy them.
Makes blades tacky but it's my go to for strength
Out door finishes video would be awesome. I have some water based external polyurethane which i am excited to try on a cheap, pine table i just made. Still debating if I want to stain. Sanding part is almost done so i need to decide quick
Not to take anything away from @StumpyNubs, but @TheWoodWhisperer and @JonPetersArtHome, among others, have done evaluations of exterior finishes.
white oak (preferably quarter sawn) is my wood of choice for windows. Good balance of rot resitance, affordability, and stability
Treated timber is usually used for outdoor related projects
Untreated timber if its for outdoor use prime undercoat top coat outdoor all weather paint
Or a 5yr wood stain sealer especially on any part that touches ground esp ground that's wet or gets wet
Ten or so years ago I built an oversized porch swing for an exposed location. I used white oak, Titebond III, and splurged on bronze screws from McFeely's. Finished with Sherwin-Williams opaque stain. The finish has held up pretty well. All the joints are still tight. I did not glue the slats in place so that they could be easily replaced if one broke. Not needed to date. 2" bronze screws were applied generously to all the joints. The slats were done with 1" screws.
I made an outdoor workbench out of 2x4's about 8 or 9 years ago. I put on a good prime and an exterior paint and it is holding up really well. I've never refinished it but I am going to refinish the top this year. The rest of it is still in great shape.
Check the bottom of the feet as well.
One thing to keep in mind also: some people, like me, are allergic to some types of (natural) wood. I can literally feel my eyes and sinuses cry out if I spend more than a minute or two in the close up presence of cedar! A few years back I wandered into a wood speciality store and as I passed this one rack of some exotic and expensive wood I felt like a hand reached out and tried to choke me. I kept walking and it went away. Turned back and passed a second time and the same thing happened! It wasn't cedar and I don't know what it was, but the point is: make sure you and your family and friends are not at risk going into an allergic shock when they approach your beautiful garden table ;) It's not good for your reputation as a woodworker :)
Cypress! I started using this about 15 years ago, after a set of pine Adirondack chairs rotted away. Taking the advice of Norm Abram, I used cypress. Today, those projects are still perfect and have been outside on a pier since then. The only downside? They turn an ugly splotchy gray, just like cedar. Just have to embrace it. A pressure wash will restore the color for a bit. It's easy to work with, and reasonably inexpensive, the last time I bought some.
Two thumbs up for My Wood Cutters. Both helical unit upgrades I purchased from them arrived timely and well packaged.
Regarding stainless steel fasteners, specifically nuts, bolts and screws - it has been my experience, both as a homeowner and boat owner, that big box store "stainless steel" fasteners are of a lower grade than marine grade (316) stainless steel and will thus rust/corrode at some point in time. There are 50-year-old 316 stainless fasteners on my boat, and they look "good as new" compared to what I've used from the big box stores.
316 (sometimes referred to as 316L or A4) stainless steel will cost more, but you'll get a longer service life out of them.
Eastern Red Cedar is much more dense than Western. I believe it’s Janka Rating is right around cherry and walnut. I’m lucky enough to have it readily available by me and the guy charges me around 4$/board foot. Great for outdoor furniture
Another vote for unfinished cedar. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.🙂🙂
White Oak is good. I like it all around, takes stain well, it can hang around outside or inside. Outside will darken it and no matter what you do it’s doing it whether you like it or not!
I used teak oil on a table and bench because it's easy to refinish. Just sand lightly and add another coat as needed. It seems like any kind of film based finish would be a pain to refinish.
I had great success with linseed oil and wax on a cedar table for about 4 years in direct sun, and left out in snow over winter -- no greying. But I did need to re-apply wax at least once a year, and it stained easily from dirt if I didn't wipe it clean regularly.
Good points.
Avoid the blond wood on cedar, it rots just as fast as pine.
I made white oak roof racks for my truck 10 years ago that are just as strong as ever and my truck is never garaged.
please add a video on outdoor finishes, would love to hear from you
Regular ol Doug Fir is surprisingly good at releasing moisture and less absorbent than we've been led to believe, even in a natural unfinished state.
My local hardwood dealer carries rough sawn cypress in all the common dimensions (1x6, 2x4, etc.). That would be my first choice for an inexpensive long lasting outdoor project. It is soft, but not as soft as cedar.
Thanks for the tips, James! 😊
Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊
Its not my mother ,its just nature.Great video thank you.
Some areas of the Midwestern US (Wisconsin)are blessed and cursed with black locust trees. The blessed part comes from the fact that black locust lumber will withstand outdoor weather for at least 20 years. Even untreated black locust posts will not rot in the ground for 20 years. The cursed side comes from the fact that it is a very hard wood to work with, literally being very hard. Much harder that hard maple and very close to Hickory. Also, the smaller branches bear thorns that are needle sharp and are about 2" long. I source mine from some Amish sawmills. If I want it to last it's right up there with treated wood with no dangerous chemicals.
If you are in the right area, hemlock, a soft wood pine tree - not the bush that makes a poison tea, is very rot resistant. I’m fortunate to be in the Catskills with a lot of hemlock on my property. I have a small sawmill and many others do in areas like this. Look and you can find wood cheaper than a big box store.
I hope this isn’t offensive, but truthfully I like this studio setting over the other with all your hand planes. When I first came across your channel I had a moment of panic as I thought that I needed to acquire a lot of them to do good woodworking.
Stumpy, where's the old workshop gone
I loved it with all the old planes etc....
Bring it back, please 😢
It's being rebuilt
White oak is $$$. I have a lot of yellow pine here and it is amazing for outdoor furniture. I'm wondering about laminate bamboo because I am starting to run into that a lot. Last 2 benches I overhauled the hardware cleaned up the hardwood and used a Brazilian oil stain and they are doing VERY good in the hot Texas sun and rain.
I live in UK. All we have is pine! So for us its either treated lumber or lots of wood preserver. Then paint it.
Have a look for slats from iroko wood. They do a great job & aren't very expensive (assuming you order a decent amount at once or can collect) for a proper hardwood that can stand up well against the weather without needing paint. The main frame can still be treated stuff to keep the price down too.
You're using the wrong wood suppliers then. I'm also in the UK and use iroko for outdoor furniture. The Adirondack chairs I built years ago spend nine months of the year outside and uncovered - for the other three they are under a lean-to which keeps off the rain and snow, at least as long as the wind doesn't blow - and are still as good as new (save for turning grey of course). I don't know if you can get it in the USA though. There is no point in using a finish - it'll just create extra work in the future.
Thermally modified wood is a very good alternative if you have a local source. It's stable, weather, rot, and pest resistant and the thermal process imparts a stain like finish. The process does slightly weaken the wood by around 15 to 20% so if using for structures, check the load bearing stats.
Yep, redwood is expensive. If I want it to last for ever, I still go for it. I have many redwood items, some very old. Your video is super helpful as always. My second choice is always cedar.
Definitely great advice. My property is covered in eastern red cedar. Beautiful wood. Thank you
Thank you for this video. I watch all of yours. I live in SW France. Here we can buy Robinia =False Acacia which has several American names, I think Locust and Iron Wood. It's virtually immune to rot and insect attack, works easily, weathers well and doesn't produce splinters. ideal wood for the exterior without finish of any kind. Second choice would be Chestnut. Robinia is so-called because it was introduced to Europe by a French bloke called M. Robin.
Insane amounts of BLO on the outdoor furniture can also work wonders for durability. Some pines, especially if they are very resinous can be quite durable in outdoor conditions.
Thank you for this, I'll try to remember this about white oak regarding trade offs.
Saw Mike Holmes of HGTV fame disparage cedar's durability as if it was pine. Ticked me off because he is considered a guru of 'building it right.'
Also wouldn't go to Mike Holmes for psychiatric analysis. He ran down a teacher because he figured her a horder. She wasn't. She had a wall's worth of books, that were part of her profession, and she had some duplicates of cooking utensils. If you cook much at all, you need some duplicates because that is how cooking works. Neither collection was extreme, or unreasonable. The house was in otherwise good condition...
Thanks for sharing this information with us James. Stay safe. Fred.
I think we as woodworkers have a weird thing about paint, as if we're not REAL woodworkers unless we leave all the grain exposed to wow everyone who sees our master craftsmanship. I just made a bench for a family member, and the legs and entire frame of it were made from 2x4s, including a few pieces of old pressure-treated that had been in my garage for year (thus appropriately dry). I'm new to turning so I decided this would be my first major turning project, with four big legs turned on the lathe. Lots of tearout issues with the carbide tools since I'm a newbie. First time doing real mortise and tenons too, and they were slightly gappy. None of that mattered thanks to wood filler + paint. A high-quality white paint + a simple bench top of clear-coated curly maple, and the family member was stunned that it looked so good. They don't have the same ideas about paint not being for REAL woodworkers.
Great topic, why you my boy blue! If it's outside, I use Osage orange!! Longest lasting stuff I know of, it'll last 100 years as a fence post!
I started watching your videos a couple weeks ago and have learned the most from them out of a lot of maker builder UA-camrs. I saw something was fatty resistant and as a fatty I appreciate that 😂 here’s to the death of wicker furniture
We have what is marketed as protective stain. It is absorbed by the wood and it stays there for a very long time (5+ years) and prevents rot almost completely. I have 10 year old pieces of scrap pine lying around in the garden that are still good to be used.
I have a few points about fastening too. Glue doesn't last in hot summers, so does poly based finishes. Screws other than stainless steel varieties do not last long if they get wet. I think the best ones are IKEA style fasteners, I have wooden IKEA furniture in my garden for the past 14 years, I painted them 3-4 times, they are still in good condition. The problem with them is they are hard to source where I live. Finally, never trust metal corner brackets, I learnt it the hard way. Do proper joinery, 2x2 is far stronger than 2-3mm mystery metal.
Finally, make sure your projects have no location that the water would collect, design it in a way so that the water will drain or it should have large enough opening so that it would dry.
I don't know the exact going price for white oak boards, but I know logs prices in my area have white oak near the top. I live in an area where the timber is at least 90% hardwoods, and the only wood bringing higher price than white oak is black walnut. Cherry, maple, hickory, and red oak all take a back seat to white oak.
In an era where groceries are a major purchase, I can't see many people buying white oak to build a chair for their porch.
Great video. Wish it was longer!
Get oil on that oak, penetrating oil not a film finish, and recoat as needed and it will much improve that patina over time.
I did cabot oil on my rebuilt guider with cedar 4 years ago...looks as good now as then and haven't had to do anything other than a wash. And that's with Illinois winters and summers
Redwood and teak are also good options. Although I would regularly apply teak oil to the teak (maybe before winter sets in).
White oak is used by boat builders because the capillary tubes of the heart wood has blockages which restrict the flow of water. You can take a piece of red oak and dip it in pool of water and blow bubbles from the other end; not so with white oak. There isnt significant chemical difference between different oak species for rot resistance.
Ok, now you gotta set up a sample bench of different types of woods and finished and put them outside in the elements and come back monthly for status updates. :). I expect a 5-7 year run on episodes for the unfinished ones.
Where I live Teak is $3.50 a board foot. I use it for almost everything.
I got my hands on a lot of junk white oak all twisted etc. Not furniture grade but for planter boxes and bird houses been working great. You cant buy pine 2x4 for what I paid for it . I have 3 different finishes on different ones watching my guess in another year wont be able to see the difference lol
i use MDF for my patio tables. i like them wavy and fluffy.
Not sure if you’re kidding or not? 😳
LOL
@@BobbieJeanM it's like having graham crackers for tables.
@@aaronalquiza9680 ahhhh, glad you know that and now I know you were joking! 😂👍
Thanks James. A great video on a topic we all need to know about!
Short sweet, and accurate. Thanks!!
There is a deck and fence product called “Flood” that lasts *really* well, and looks really nice that a friend of mine put me on to. i like to use the cedar colored one, because it is applied to an already aged wood, it tends to look almost like worn in leather, has a good rustic chic look. I’ve used it on outdoor benches and chairs and it has lasted really well.
I put that on a black locust deck and it worked well.
Even when building a deck, you should let treated lumber dry out for about 6 weeks before cutting anything. I know most people DON'T do that, but you should.
If you do a video about exterior wood finishes, I'd be interested in your assessment of Hemp Shield. I have used it on a few outdoor projects and it has held up well. It is water based and easy to work with. I have also used it on the interior trim in our guest house.
yes cedar stands up well to mother nature but, but is splits easy and because it is soft, it will require more support that even white pine or even fir. If I am going to use a coating then I will use a high solids stain or I will take a good oil based paint and thin it with linseed and mineral spirits, to get it to sink in deep. if at all possible I will coat the wood before I put the project together and then make sure to treat the cut ends with the same product I coated the wood with. stay away from box store products as they have a limited use, some products look good but just do not stand up to the elements, I had one oil base paint that chalk up before I even finished putting the product on, I was working in direct sunlight and it just did not like it. I ended up scrapping it off, allowed it to dry completely and then sanded and applied a new coat once it got a bit cooler. Don't skimp on paints or stains, this is especially true outdoors. Paint store make their products to be used in your location and box store paints sell to stores all over the country so they may not have taken your location into consideration. What works good in Arizona may not work well in Pennsylvania.
Late last year I build an Adarondack chair out of Western Cedar... yeah it was around $400 in materials just for the 3 or 4 boards I needed. Works very well, but holy hell is it expensive. I want to try White Oak next since it has pretty reasonable prices as the local lumber yard buys in bulk shipments. Probably won't be that fun to work with though.
One wood we have in the northern part of our province (Saskatchewan) is Tamarack (or Larch) which apparently is nearly as good as Cedar for outdoor furniture water/weather resistance and similar to Douglas Fir for hardness/workability. It has been used for Telephone poles and dog-sleds in the past. Unfortunately it isn't used much commercially for timber these days so it is hard to find as boards, but I will have to make a trip to find some and try out as I would love to use local materials for local project.
I have a love/hate relationship with cedar. It’s gorgeous and fairly cheap in my area. But no matter what you do with it, it fast becomes as brittle as potato chips.
What oil-based applications do you recommend for “unfinished” outdoor projects? I’m guessing that an annual or biannual application to some of these woods will help prolong their life, without the worry of flaking or other paint-like finishes.
As a beekeeper, we dunk new beehives in ting oil or boiled linseed oil… some go as far as to heat the oil in large cats and submerge the hive boxes for a minute or two so it really soaks in. Obviously this isn’t realistic for a lot of outdoor projects… but the protection the oils provide seem logical.
Happy birthday James.
I've been slathering used motor oil on 12' treated 4x4 posts - they're in the rain and sun but have stabilized, slung over 2 sawhorses - some have straightened back out after initially warping. I wouldn't use the wood for chairs or table tops. I bet it would partly water proof plain pine.
Iroko is a lovely hardwood if you want a bench that'll really last, & it's surprisingly cheap in the UK (not sure about US). Unlike oak, it holds up very well even without oiling & I think it ends up looking better over time & exposure to the elements. I'd always keep oak oiled & preferably burnish it to keep it in good shape. Those parts that do have to stand on the ground & soak up water can be made from treated softwood too, sort of like horseshoes but for your outdoor furniture.
Kind of a poor mans teak, which of course you can’t get unless it’s recycled. Both tricky to glue though. ❤
I second your recommendation of iroko (it does pretty much live up to its reputation as the poor man's teak).
@@mikehall4121 I also love sapele as a poor man's mahogany, but prices on that have gone a bit mad recently.
Cyprus is my choice for outdoor projects such as swings or benches.
Let's not forget about composite decking. I garbage picked an old bench my neighbor was tossing out. The sides were wrought iron, and the slats were cedar (rotted). I replaced the slats with composite and 10 years on and you wouldn't know the difference.
Has anyone ever heard about outdoor projects made with wood stabilized with Cactus Juice?
I stabilize woods for knife scales, but never considered bird houses, benches, chairs etc. White oak is getting the Adirondack treatment with stabilized wood this summer. Thanks for the heads up on the wood selection. 👍
One point of contention at 2:30
Wooden ships are exposed mostly to saltwater not freshwater. Saltwater doesn't rot wood like freshwater does, so your unfinished back yard furniture potentially sees a lot more weather abuse than a wooden ship.
The decks of wooden ships were exposed to sun and rain, just like furniture.
@@StumpyNubs they're not unfinished, they use varnish or paint on their decks. Plus sea water washes across them regularly enough to essentially brine any potentially exposed wood making it harder for freshwater to seep in and do damage.
thanks
Another option is to use treated lumber for the frame members and something nicer/less toxic for the more visible surfaces.
I would think cypress would be another great option (or at least a good one) for outdoor projects. Cypress trees grown in water, so it seems to stand to reason that the water- & rot-resistance would be high. Just a thought. And yes to a video on outdoor finishes, please! :)
Great video. My go-to is English Oak and something like an Osmo oil uv protection coating. 🇬🇧.
I've found that the best "outdoor" wood is cypress. And if you ask your local lumber yard (not box store), they can probably get it.
I have had pretty decent success with Douglas fir if sealed properly it ages well in the sun and rain and it was pretty cheap when I used it
An overview of outdoor finishes like water seal and spar eurathane would be great
Cherry is also another good option that might be in some home stores
Mahogany & African Teak Woods are super long lasting for outdoor projects.
Brass fasteners will also do well against the elements - and look prettier than stainless steel. Though they can be harder to find and you have to make sure they are actually brass and not just "brass" (colored crap).
Thanks for sharing that!
Excellent advice, Stumpy, as always! Thanks!
How about cypress? The 40-year old Adirondack chairs I made are just now ready for the burn pile. I will salvage the ss screws to use in the next set. The resorcinol glued parts are still holding tightly.
Thanks for this !